Artist Narrative

St. Herman was one of the first Russian Orthodox missionaries sent to Alaska in 1794. All were monks. Most were lay brothers. They were instructed by their superiors to convert by example rather than words. Herman lived alone for almost 40 years on Spruce Island, near Kodiak. His quiet life of compassionate love attracted the neighboring Alutiiq Eskimos and hundreds were baptized. When Russian fur trappers abused the natives, Herman rebuked them. His primitive hermitage, where he once lived in poverty, is now a place of pilgrimage.